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HQ Job Description (JD)
Band 11
Rehabilitation Directorate
Job Description - Head of Drug and Alcohol
Group
Document Ref.
HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0
Document Type
Management
Version
3.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
2 July 2025
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
OFFICIAL
HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0
OFFICIAL
Job Description
Job Title
Head of Drug and Alcohol Group
Directorate
Rehabilitation Directorate
Band
11
Overview of the
This is a senior leadership role in HMPPS Headquarters,
job
responsible for influencing across HMPPS, MoJ and partners to
transform delivery of drug and alcohol provision across HMPPS.
The post holder will have significant operational and/or policy
development experience at a senior level, enabling them to lead
and deliver drug and alcohol strategy and provision across
HMPPS. They will be accountable for determining the scope,
decision making and delivery of agency strategy and provision,
for engagement with ministers, senior leaders and policy
colleagues and for leading a programme of work which engages
and directs senior operational leaders in the evolution of their
own local strategies and practice. They will hold responsibility for
influencing the development and implementation of policy, in
order to optimise the conditions for effective tackling of supply,
reducing demand and promoting recovery from drugs and
alcohol in both prisons and the community.
The post holder reports to the Head of Health and Wellbeing
Division. They will lead a team of senior managers in HQ and
influence widely through matrix management of leads in prisons
and probation and through providing direction to key groups of
staff, working groups and boards.
The post holder can be based anywhere nationwide
This is a non-operational post.
Summary
The job holder will hold substantial influence in public and private
sector prisons, approved premises, probation and the wider
agency.
They will work extensively with senior operational colleagues to
develop a range of initiatives and approaches to ensure all parts
of the business develop and deliver bespoke drug and alcohol
strategies and delivery linked to national strategies and
Frameworks, to monitor and incentivise ways of working and to
report progress at a national and regional level. They will
balance their time between operational support and innovation
with working collaboratively with senior colleagues from across
HMPPS, MoJ, contracted and third sector and lived experience
services, Public Health, Enforcement agencies, academia and
other government departments.
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HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0
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Responsibilities,
The job holder will be required to carry out the following
Activities and
responsibilities, activities and duties:
Duties
• Act as corporate sponsor and operational lead for developing
and delivering HMPPS Drug and Alcohol Strategies.
Promoting a wider understanding of how a focus on drugs
and alcohol supports safety, rehabilitation and reducing
reoffending.
• To effectively influence and work in partnership with senior
operational colleagues to develop, implement, review, share
and learn from local best practice activity and enhance
performance in outcomes around drugs and alcohol within
prisons and the community. To encourage and enable high
quality provision and ensure that best practice and evidence
are widely shared and poor practice is identified and
improved.
• To lead collaboratively with staff and people in prison and
probation to ensure the work is grounded, people are
engaged and motivated to change and given the best
possible support to create a safer environment where people
can be free from the harms associated with problem drugs
and alcohol use and be supported in recovery.
• Responsible for influencing and collaborative working with
Security Directorate, the Home Office, the NHS, Local
Authorities and Department of Health and Social Care Office
of Health Improvement and Disparities on treatment and
recovery services in custody and the community. To bring
these different senior stakeholders together in a coherent
approach which maximises impact and reaches and engages
staff and people in prison and probation.
• To influence and inform national operational policy, the
contracting of services and communication of our work in
order to promote improved outcomes.
• Responsible for designing, negotiating and implementing
effective and proportionate methods of monitoring and
incentivising improvement nationally, within prisons and the
community.
• Contribute to the development of whole system strategic
objectives at the national level.
• Responsible for strategic and business planning for the
programme of drug and alcohol provision across the agency
including determining and reporting on milestones and
deliverables at national boards.
• Responsible for ensuring and promoting effective evaluation
and cost-benefit review of the work delivered by the Group,
prisons and probation and for building an economic case for
designing and implementing bespoke strategies relevant to
different areas.
• Maintain effective stakeholder relationships with unions, and
external agencies such as the Department of Health and
Social Care, HM Inspectorate Prisons and Probation, Prisons
and Probation Ombudsman, the third sector, mutual aid and
lived experience organisations and academia.
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HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0
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The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is
at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is
expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of
a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments
may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme
and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.
An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence
through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales)
Welsh.
Behaviours
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Managing a Quality Service
Strengths
Note: we recommend you choose 4 to 8 strengths locally - select
from the list of Civil Service strength definitions on the intranet.
Experience
• Significant senior leadership experience in an operational or
policy environment with a clear understanding of issues
around problem drugs and alcohol use, safety, treatment,
recovery, reducing reoffending and rehabilitation.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong drafting skills and proven ability to produce finished
written products.
• The ability to affect change and influence Senior Leaders,
internal and external key stakeholders.
• Experience of working at a strategic level across stakeholder
and provider groups.
• Experience and skills in leading and managing in a complex
change management context.
Technical
• Understanding of government drug and alcohol strategy and
Requirements
cross-departmental working to tackle supply, reduce demand
and promote recovery.
• Understanding of how prisons and probation operate, and
mechanisms for influencing change within establishments and
the community.
• Understanding of the evidence base around promoting and
sustaining recovery
Ability
• Have high levels of integrity and professional credibility
amongst operational and policy colleagues.
• Confident and resilient under pressure with the ability to
function effectively and autonomously in a challenging
environment.
• The ability and skills to represent HMPPS to stakeholders at
Senior Management level.
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HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0
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• The ability to engage and influence a broad range of
stakeholders, with strong and sometimes conflicting views.
• The ability to see the bigger picture and create a culture of
innovation and change.
Minimum
Please do not alter this box
Eligibility
• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior
to taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to 6 months’
probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they
have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS.
• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of
a group or organisation which HMPPS consider to be racist.
Hours of Work
37 hour working week
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
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HQ JES 2742 Head of Drug and Alcohol Group v3.0